A senior government official said Asadullah Khalid suffered injuries on the lower part of his body when a bomb exploded at the intelligence chief's guest house as he was receiving a visitor. The house is used for private meetings that Khalid doesn't want to hold at the official compound of the National Directorate of Intelligence, the official said.

He official would not provide more details beyond saying the bombing was an attempt on Khalid's life.

Khalid was rushed to a medical facility run by the intelligence service, the government official said.

CBS News Kabul bureau chief Mukhtar Ahmad says President Hamid Karzai released a statement condemning the attack, and visited Khalid in the hospital.

An Afghan police official also confirmed that Khalid was injured in a blast. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose the information.

Khalid, a former minister of tribal and border affairs and ex-governor of two provinces, was appointed head of the service in September.

Ahmad says the Taliban sent a statement claiming responsibility for the attack.